Today we spent the entire lesson on the website apstudent.collegeboard.org. Vlad was introduced to the structure of the A.P. U.S. History exam, the 9 chronological periods of U.S. history covered on the exam, a sample multiple choice question and a sample DBQ (Document Based Question) essay question. We discussed the amount of reading and practice writing Vlad will have to get used to doing in order to be successful on the exam. Vlad said he is up to the challenge.

Began today's lesson by discussing the requirements for A.P. U.S. History. Vlad seems to genuinely like history and to be up for the challenge. We discussed the importance of strong expository writing skills in history and especially A.P. histories. I explained to Vlad that he will likely be given a topic/question and then asked to compare different historical documents to support his thesis in a majority of A.P. essays. Vlad says he is up to the challenge of taking this on when his A.P. materials arrive. I told him it will involve a lot of practice. Since Vlad has not had U.S. History since 8th grade, we did review some very early concepts such as the influence of Judeo-Christian belief systems, Greek and Roman traditions of law and government on European society and even to our present day society. We discussed that our government is not a true democracy, but rather a democratic republic and how amazing it is that the Founding Fathers of the U.S. had the vision and the foresight to know the best structure to build our country's foundations of government and laws. We also began to review some of the aspects the Age of Exploration: Columbus, Balboa, Magellan, Arawaks, Genocide. Vlad is a very bright and has a strong memory. He has what all A.P. students need and that is he truly likes and appreciates the subject of history. I look forward to delving into the A.P. material with Vlad as soon as we receive it!

Vlad says he has done well with history in the past. "I'm good at memorizing stuff," he says. Vlad shared that the Industrial Revolution is his favorite era of history. He finds new inventions and the way they changed ways of life and the world very interesting. It is no coincidence that Vlad aspires to be an environmental or aerospace engineer as he is interested in discovering and working on ways to address issues that are damaging to the planet and environment.

Vlad is taking three A.P. classes this year: U.S. History, Physics and Chemistry. He explained that he wants to pursue engineering studies at M.I.T., Stanford, UCLA or GA Tech. I explained to Vlad that there is a lot of reading in A.P. U.S. History and it moves at a rapid pace. In addition, he will practice writing A.P. history essays which he understands have a very specific format. Learning to write a successful A.P. history essay will require hard work and practice. He also understands that we will be utilizing a lot of A.P. U.S. History practice testing throughout the year so he may become familiar with the wording and format of the multiple choice, essay and other types of test questions.

Paige completed more of the online practice test for the AP US HIstory exam.

We worked on an online practice test for the AP US History exam.

Today we went over the policies, personalities and legislation of the Progressive Era including the Roosevelt's Square deal and Wilson's New Nationalism. We discussed muckracker Upton Sinclair's exposure of the "embalmed meat scandal" and the resulting Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. We discussed the trust busting court case Northern Securities v. US that broke up the monopolistic railroad trust of JP Morgan. We also covered the expansion of the federal government's powers in the form of a number of acts including the Clayton Act (expanding Sherman Antitrust), the Underwood Act (calling for progressive income tax), the Hepburn Act (fixing railroad prices), and the Department of Commerce and Labor and the Federal Trade commission. Zach then took a quiz.

We worked on outlining the chapter.

Zach continued to research and add to his outline about the effectiveness of the social reforms during the Gilded Age.

Zach and I reviewed chapter 16 and the sociopolitical developments of the Gilded Age. We discussed the increase in industry, migration, and the rise of corporations and trusts, and then the subsequent labor movements. We also discussed the treatment of native Americans in the West. Zach highlighted important notes from the chapter.

We almost completed the outline for the chapter.